Can consumers really build a “relationship” with a company on social media?

I’m not friends with businesses on Facebook. I like business pages, but the businesses aren’t my friends. Facebook recognized this distinction from day one, but businesses are still trying to get in the friend zone. There is a lot of talk in small business marketing that tells us to focus on building relationships with clients. But for this strategy to be successful, there has to be a person, and in most cases several people, behind the company who are all working to build the relationship.

The people building the relationships are those who come in direct contact with the customer and have the opportunity to communicate with them, like the customer service representative, the repair technician, or the sales associate. And so when we look at this from a marketing standpoint and more specifically social media, we can see why there is a challenge with building a relationship with consumers.

The challenge is so great that social media marketing has turned from building relationships toward ‘building community’. Businesses now focus on being a gathering place for their target audience, where the goal is to provide the meeting place and high quality content.

But don’t give up with social media sales. Social media can also be tied to sales goals and used as a tool to generate new clients. The key for success is to respect the platform and how it is used by consumers. In this post, we will look at how you can use Facebook as a sales generator.

The Anatomy of a Perfect Facebook Ad

The post below appeared in my personal Facebook news feed recently and as I examined it, I quickly realized how many marketing tactics it included and how it can be used as a template for creating the perfect Facebook advertisement.

1. Show the people behind your business.

People enter relationships with people. This ad shows the team behind Newman Veterinary Centers and gives you someone to connect with.

2. Tie to consumer emotions.

If you own a pet, you consider yourself a parent. Most people regard their pets as their furry children. They are our babies. The text in this post reflects on that important relationship and touches the consumer emotionally.

3. Solve a problem or address a pain point for the audience.

Again, as a pet owner, you know that a trip to the veterinarian can be tremendously expensive. Owning a pet costs money and the text in the post touches on that audience ‘pain point.’ Even better, it presents the business as the resolution for that pain point.

4. Leverage social proof.

When consumers consider trying a new business, what do they do? They ask friends and family for referrals. Referrals are the most valuable form of marketing for a business. This ad offers social proof and shows the consumer who of their friends already trusts this business.

5.  Present an irresistible offer.

Once you have touched on what’s important to the target audience, present them with an irresistible offer. The offer in this ad is tied to the pain point mentioned earlier: the expense of owning a pet.

6. Offer an alternative call-to-action.

Some of your audience won’t be ready to buy, so give them something else to do. In this post, the business is also asking you to ‘like’ their page and ultimately join the pet community. If the page doesn’t offer value to the consumer, the probability of them liking the page is low. The social proof we mentioned in #4 will help entice people to like the page.

7. Connect the audience to a landing page.

When consumers click to redeem their $20 coupon, they are directed to a landing page. The landing page includes two very important marketing tactics. The first is lead-capturing, where the business collects information from the consumer and can begin building a relationship. Notice the business has kept the email opt-in simple and asks for the least amount of information needed to start a relationship: name and email. The second is the use of video. Nothing presents the human side of a business better than images and video.

Have you experienced with Facebook ads? What worked for you?